A/N: So this story is really developing and coming to me quickly. I pretty much know where it's headed. The ideas keep coming, so I thought I needed to go ahead and get this chapter out there, and if I post as I complete chapters it's all the better for those following! There isn't any Banna here, but the next chapter most certainly will have Banna!

Disclaimer: same as 1-3.

The week flew by and before she knew it she was standing outside DownAbbey, Inc. The building seemed to shoot straight up into the sky and appeared to be shiny due to the sun's rays hitting off all the windows. It was a brand new construction specifically built to Mr. Brogan's specifications. With her work bag in one hand and her to go coffee in the other, Anna entered DownAbbey, Inc. She was greeted by a receptionist named Ethel. Anna politely returned the greeting and Ethel went back to filling her nails. She stood in front of a row of elevators and pushed the up arrow button on one of them. The doors opened and once inside she pressed the button with the number 7 on it and waited for the elevator to ascend. She took a sip of her coffee and closed her eyes as the strong warm liquid coated her throat. The elevator dinged, and she opened her eyes as the doors opened. This floor was an open layout filled with desks, filling cabinets, and equipment. She made her way towards the back of the room to a door that read Human Resource Director. She shifted her coffee to her other hand and opened the door to her office. It wasn't lavish her office, but she did have a rather large space and had decorated it nicely with things of her personal taste. She sat her work bag and coffee down on her desk and turned on her laptop. She was taking off her cardigan when she heard a knock on the door frame. Gwen, her secretary, was standing there with a grin on her face.

"Good morning, Anna. Is there anything I can get you this morning?"

Anna had made a few acquaintances since she had been in Texas, but she didn't have any friends. She felt that Gwen may be just the kind of friend she needed.

"No thank you, Gwen. What have we got lined up today?" She replied with a grin of her own.

"You have 3 candidates coming in today to interview for the new IT team. The first one should arrive at 9:30. After lunch, you have a webinar regarding recruitment techniques and I-9 updates."

Anna never really saw herself ending up in human resources. When she was growing up she always wanted to work with animals, but when she lost her parents at the age of fourteen in a tragic train accident she went to live with her auntie Paula. Her auntie persuaded her to go to university to work towards a business degree, and she listened to her auntie's advice. She did end up with a bachelor degree in business, and when she applied for DownAbbey, Inc. they asked if she ever thought about HR. She saw it as a way to get her foot in the door and started as an HR generalist with the company. That was ten years ago. She never had a problem with the department she ended up making her career. She got to interact with many different individuals, even if it was mainly through interview form, and it made her feel good when she got to hire someone or reward them for their job performance. Of course there were down sides to the job, she didn't particularly care for the fact she was responsible for reprimands or terminations but that was just simply part of it. So, she just stuck with it. Kind of like that phrase "If it isn't broke why fix it". If she could truly do anything though she would go back to the dream of working with animals, but for now this would have to do.

Her first full work day at the Austin location seemed to go by quickly. The clock on her wall read 4:59. She gathered her things and stepped out of her office and closed the door. She made her way over to Gwen's desk and asked, "Have any big plans for the rest of your evening?"

Gwen spoke as she was preparing to leave, "Big plans? If you consider sitting at home with take out food and a bottle of wine binge watching a British show on Netflix big plans then yes."

Anna let out between a sigh and a laugh. "That's bigger plans than I have I can promise you that."

"Well, if you haven't anything else to do you are more than welcome to come to my place that is if you don't mind us watching British TV. I don't want to assume just because you're British that you would like it."

Anna gave an easy smile, "Well, I do fancy Yorkshire Place. I think the story line is just lovely."

Gwen gave her an unsure look, "Fancy?"

"Oh, yes fancy as in like. I like Yorkshire Place." She replied.

"That is great because Yorkshire Place is the show I've been obsessing over! I live about ten minutes outside Lockhart. I know you live there so my place should be on your way home. Want to just follow me to my apartment?"

"That sounds great Gwen. Thank you."

About 30 minutes later, they arrived at Gwen's place. It was a nice 2 bedroom apartment. It had a cozy feel to it that Anna appreciated. They had Chinese takeout containers spread out on the kitchen counter tops and Gwen got down two wine glasses. After piling their plates and filling their glasses, they made their way into the living room and sat down on the couch. Gwen picked up the remote and switched on Netflix "So, how far are you into the show?"

"I have seen season one."

"Okay, I'm only half way through season two so we'll just start with season two and go from there."

"Sounds good." Anna replied as she took a sip of her drink.

After they consumed most of the food and a bottle of wine drunk between them Anna said," Oh my gosh. Aren't Don and Hannah just the sweetest? I'd die to have a love like that."

"They are pretty cute, but I'm more of an upstairs fan."

Anna gave Gwen a look of mock offense. "Gwen! How could you?"

They both broke out into a fit of giggles at Anna's words.

"Okay. Okay. I'll be a downstairs fan when you're around." Gwen decided to change topics, "So, next Saturday evening in Lockhart there is going to be a line dance at a place called Patmores. I was thinking about going but I don't want to go alone. Would you like to go with me?"

"At Patmores? I've been there once while getting to know my surroundings, but I don't know. I've never line danced before." Her cheeks had a faint blush from admitting this.

"Oh don't worry about that Anna! The dances are all really repetitive and the steps are easy once you get the hang of it." Gwen answered brightly.

"Well if you're sure I won't make a fool of myself then I'll join you."

"Yayyy! I know you won't! It'll be fun wait and see!"

"Hey! I thought we were picking apricots today!" Robert Crawley took off his white ten gallon hat and wiped his brow as he looked at a couple crates of honeydew sitting in the loading area.

"We are but a few of these honeydews were about to get too ripe, so I told the guys to go ahead." John spoke calmly.

"Alright then sorry to barge in like that. How is everything Bates?"

"Going well. We'll continue with the orchard this morning, and this afternoon we'll make sure all the dairy deliveries are ready for the morning."

Robert clapped John on the shoulder. "Wonderful! The orders have been steady for a long while now. It's good to see things operating well."

Robert and John had been friends since they were teenagers. They had both been interested in learning to ride horses and bulls. Both had been good at picking up the skill of trick riding and how to maneuver on the bulls, but John had been a natural at it. Robert on the other hand had a history of family wealth, and when he realized he wasn't going to make the grade to become a professional bull rider he decided to open a dairy and orchard farm called Grantham Farms. John came to work at Grantham Farms eight years ago after a horrible bull riding accident. His right knee was shattered from the accident and forced him to retire from riding. It took John a few years with multiple surgeries and physical therapy for him to be able to walk without assistance. Robert had immediately offered him a job with his farm as soon as he heard he had to retire, but John wouldn't hear of it until he could walk on his own. Now, John was the supervisor over all of Grantham Farms.

Robert put his large white hat back on his head to leave but turned suddenly and asked, "I almost forgot to ask. How is your momma?"

John brought his hand up to scrape across the stubble on his chin. "I'm afraid her eye site is getting worse. I've increased my visits to make sure she's okay."

"I'm sorry to hear it brother. Please let me know if Cora and I can help you in any way." He said with empathy in his eyes.

"I will thanks Rob." John replied with a slight nod.

The farm had over a hundred head of cattle to be milked twice a day and, the orchard had a vast number of fruits the most popular being apples, apricots, honeydew, watermelon, peaches, and the number one favorite in the area strawberries. This meant long days on the farm usually six to six shifts. The weekends were his to do what he wished though, and he was thankful for that. They gave him time to relax and spend extra time with his momma. They had milk deliveries three to four days a week to various cities and counties in Texas and sometimes even orders out of state. On occasion, John would have to make some of the deliveries himself if the order load was higher than normal or if an employee was out. The fruit orders weren't as regular since different fruits came into season at different times, but John had a good crew of guys and the farm had been moving smoothly for a while now.

"Hey boss man!" John turned to look at the person who just called him boss man and saw Tom Branson approaching him.

"Hello, Tom."

"We've got the trucks loaded up. All the deliveries should go out as scheduled."

"Great work, Tom. I appreciate it."

Tom gave a nod accepting the compliment then continued.

"I wanted to see if you were planning on going to Patmore's next Saturday night. I think most of the guys here are going. Mrs. Patmore is clearing out the other half of the drug store so we can have a line dance." Tom said with a huge grin.

"That really isn't my thing, Tom. I think I will pass this time." He shifted his eyes to look at anything other than Tom.

"Oh come on boss man. You could use a little fun every now and then."

John furrowed his brows and looked back at Tom. "I have fun."

"Sure you do." Tom hesitated before continuing, "I was thinking about asking Sybil to go with me."

"Sybil? You mean Robert's daughter?" He raised one eyebrow.

"Yeah her. What do you think?" Tom asked with a hopeful tone in his voice.

"I think Sybil is lovely girl. I've known her since she was born."

"She is quite a girl isn't she. I hope she says yes, and I want to see you there too boss man. Thanks for lending an ear."

John watched Tom walk away toward the cattle barn and breathed a loud sigh as he said aloud to himself, "I'd just end up leaning against the jukebox being everyone's DJ for the evening."

He didn't wanna think about it any longer, so he grabbed his clipboard and headed out to the orchard.

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